When bad hats happen to good people...or at least to semi-good knitters.

This winter I was all about the slouchy berets that many people wear so cutely. Being a knitter, I couldn't justify purchasing one, so I decided to knit myself one. One turned into at least 5 or 6, and I still don't have a hat I wear out of the house (except for a lovely cabled hat that was hand-knit in South America, not in London, Ontario).

Here are just three of my attempts.

The first one she tried on was too big!

The second one she tried on was too small!

So, one would think that the third one she tried would be juuuuust right. And actually, I thought that until my darling sister looked at me wearing it for the first time and said, "You look like a turtle. A cute turtle though!"

Alas, I will keep trying. There are a few more that I shan't dare post pictures of!

But while my head remains cold, I have an ever-growing collection of cowls that I love. Here is "spiral cowl" generously shared by Knitty Gritty Thoughts as a free pattern. I used Malabrigo in Flamingo, which was actually a Christmas gift from Ian the first winter we were together.

And this is a beautiful pattern for chunky yarns, but for the love of sheep I cannot find the link for the pattern. I will definitely keep looking, b/c I highly recommend all knitters make one for themselves before next winter. I used a chunky cream alapaca and I love it so much!

The dark green hat is "The Sweatshop of Love's Slouchy Beret Pattern" and has giant cables.

Both the purple and the green are "Gwen Slouchy Beret" and are knit from cascade 220.

I should be clear that these are not bad hat patterns, and the ones knit by the creators are beautiful. Bad hats just refers to the ones knit by me :)

Just a few more pictures of local hiking. Earlier in March, Ian's dad George visited us, and when he arrived in London there was no snow on the ground. Then overnight we got about 20cm of snow! So obviously the thing to do when you visit South Western Ontario in the winter is to get outside and enjoy it. So here are some pictures of Ian and George hiking in the snowy trails:

And just as a side note-we had double digit temperatures last week and just in the last 2 hours it has started snowing again. It is actually sticking enough that shovelling is going to be necessary. Oh well!

Here in the East Village Ghetto, we are always trying to find new crafts that contribute to a healthier life for ourselves and Ms Gaia. I have a dear friend who shares our feelings about Mother Earth and this week she taught me to make homemade soap! This soap is very special for many reasons. My friend works with the woman who sources the Shea Butter directly, so there is a very strong connection between the village that processes it and the person who provided it to me. Also, there are very few ingredients, which means we know

exactly what is going into the soap, into our bodies (even though we rinse off soap, our skin absorbs so much of our 'beauty products') and finally down the drain.

The picture with the crock pot is one of the final steps, but as usual, I can't predict what order the pictures will appear in!

because the mixture can be hot and splashy, we had to don

our haz-mat suits. Safety First!

Look at all those kitchen gadgets! No wonder I love this new hobby, I got to use a stick blender, crock pot, 16 thousand separate and adorable bowls, measuring cups, a scale and a candy thermometer. My friend brought some of her gadgets b/c believe it or not I didn't have some of the equipment required. So I am on the lookout for my own tools to add to our already ridiculous collection of kitchen appliances. Good thing Mister built so much storage!

That mini-coffin is the mold we pour the liquid soap in to shape it. Since I had never made soap before my friend brought her mold for me to copy. Before I could get to making mine, Ian had made me one the very next day. Evidently he is also very excited about soap making:

Mine has these wing-nuts, so if the soap gets stuck I can unscrew the entire box and pop it out. Also an ornate handle to pull the top of the mold off.

So I guess y'all can predict what you will be getting for gifts in 2011!

since we moved to london, we have taken up nature walks as a weekend habit. here are some pictures from Westminster Ponds here in London:

Here is what might be the BEST bowl in the world for our kitchen. Sister and I found it at Goodwill and it matches our lime paint and retro dishes so well. I love it! (although, I was actually looking for a GIANT ceramic bowl, so if anyone sees something like that, please pick it up for me!)

And some delicious vegan mini-muffins for a potluck this afternoon. Ian actually made them, not me, which is not surprising given all his other talents, but I used to be the baker in the house. I guess I will have to take on a new chore that is not mine (laundry, dishes, cooking, plumbing, cleaning, grocery shopping, or cleaning up cat puke are a few that Ian is recommending, haha)